257 - 263

In the main headquarters of the Destruction Demon Army on Elo Katra, the second conference was held soon after the first one, which was very rare. This time, everyone apart from the 1st Battalion Commander participated.

[Now, even Helièna went and died right after Echjar got done in. Look at the state the Destruction Demon Army is in.]

[Helièna, that fool. She was always pursuing something else. The Fifth… was it? Does that even make sense? No wonder she died.]

[I don't care about a lizard, but Helièna's death means an unfortunate loss of a woman. I never tasted that woman until the very end.]

[Don't joke with me, Belkatoo. When she was alive, you couldn't even look her in the eye due to the fear of being controlled.]

[Do you have to express your desires every time you meet!]

The 8th Battalion Commander Zenusva sighed while shaking its bird head. Then, he lightly breathed out fire to get their attention.

[He is dangerous, whether we bring him to us or kill him, if we lose any more of our forces, the very foundation of our faction may be shaken. I've gathered you here today in order to tell you that.]

[Natière and Kelatuke died as well, right?]

[Helièna was the one who killed them.]

[I don't care who killed them, what's important is that they died.]

The eyes of the 4th Battalion Commander Telzaider glistened.

[Everyone knows that the guys in the Garden of Sunset are skillful at deceit, but they do not have a lot of 7th class beings. It's good news that one of them died. ...Although the loss of Helièna is unfortunate, we didn't really lose that much more in comparison.]

[Looks like the guys at the Army of Brilliant Light must also be grinding their teeth right now. Natière, that bitch was pretty too.]

[Belkatoo, shut up.]

[Everyone stop.]

The mouth of the 2nd Battalion Commander, Hillutonne, opened. He was one of the commanders that didn't participate in the first meeting, but came to the second after being notified of Helièna's death.

[So you mean you will not take revenge for Helièna?]

[Do not. This is my order as the one presiding over this meeting. Any unnecessary action with regards to this matter will be dangerous.]

[Zenusva, you are... Yes, you would not know. However, I cannot stay still.]

The firebird Zenusva was strictly classified as gender neutral. However, the 'males' of the Destruction Demon Army all had feelings of some sort or another towards Helièna, whether big or small. They could only feel angry after being notified of her death. And Zenusva also understood them.

However, right now, he had to persuade them.

[Save it for later, Hillutonne. You need to direct your anger somewhere else right now.]

[Somewhere else...? Oh.]

While replying Hillutonne arrived at the answer himself. The Wall of Chaos that blocked Elo Katra from Heaven's Army main headquarters – he could feel the gap in the wall opening again.

[The Heaven's Army...?]

[Yes. Only they did not lose a 7th class being in this war. Is that not unfair?]

Zenusva emitted fire from all over its body to emphasize its speech.

[They also need to pay a reasonable price. The Army of Brilliant Light, as well as the Garden of Sunset will also be thinking about that.]

[You mean to drag them into the War of the Wall of Chaos?]

[We've made losses in other places, so we need to gain profits here. I've already acquired a positive answer from them.]

[Zenusva, very daring.... But I like it.]

[I too, am looking forward to this battle now.]

Although there were slight worries, most of the Battalion Commanders took a liking to how Zenusva thought. Going beyond the Wall of Chaos was the final objective of the Destruction Demon Army, as well as the very reason for its existence.

[I can consider this as having reached a concensus?]

[Of course I agree. You did good this time, Zenusva.]

[I can't help it... If it's for that reason, very well. I will endure it for now.]

[Good, I shall report to 'him' and immediately go into preparation.]

The last obstacle that blocks the Destruction Demon Army from eating away even the Heaven's Army, the Wall of Chaos. The moment that collapses, all balance across the multiverses would be twisted and broken. They finished the conference while looking forward to the day their wishes were granted.

Like that, Yu IlHan had escaped the attention of higher existence factions for the moment. The Heaven's Army had attracted a lot of aggro because they didn't send a 7th class being, and as such, they would act as a buffer for him.

Of course, not that they would have been able to do much to Yu IlHan even if they tried.

After coming back to Earth, the group rested in order to shake off the piled up fatigue. They did absolutely nothing and spent about 4 days in peace and tranquility.

Yu IlHan and Liera did not come outside their room at all, and made people wonder if they were piling up more fatigue instead, but they exited their room in exactly 4 days as if to drown all of their worries and resentments. Na YuNa spoke to Liera while sticking close to her.

"Unni, can I stab you just once~? Just once with a hard, sharp bamboo spear."

"Go ahead. But instead, I'll stab you once too."

"...I'll stop."

Yu IlHan called for the others that had rested in their own ways. Although the glares directed at Liera did weigh on his mind, he decided not to mind about it.

"Everyone should have gotten their rest, right?"

"Yes, master. I am only worried for master."

"We had plenty of rest, Your Majesty! I am also worried for Your Majesty!"

Ericia and Mirey's answer had minute amounts of complaints in them. Looking at Liera pressuring them with scary eyes, it looked like the power of the god of love had activated again. Yu IlHan shrugged his shoulders and continued speaking.

"I said this before, but I'm going to look for my father and mother now. If they're doing well where they are, I do not need to bring them here... anyway this is my personal matter, so I don't need to take you if-"

"I'm going~!"

"I'm going."

"I want to go as well."

"I wish to go as well!"

As soon as Yu IlHan's words finished, the eyes of the others all started glistening. Although he did expect something like this to happen... Yu IlHan sighed once and looked at the group.

"Erta, you still aren't used to your new body, right? Please focus on stabilizing and adapting to your body."

"But even so..."

"It's not because the world I'm going to is a dangerous place, but because I'm worried that something like what happened in Dareu will happen once again. We've met after all this time, haven't we?"

"Uu, your way with words has increased as well...."

Erta gave up first. Then, the ones weaker than her naturally looked away. Yu IlHan naturally didn't let them go either.

"Miss YuNa. You still haven't gotten your 4th class yet, have you?"

"Thaaaat's, uh, some absurd quest appeared because the records I've acquired with you until now was so great.... I did the 5th class hunt bit, but the 4th class bit is still a little."

"If you achieve 4th class before I come back, I'll make you a pretty earring."

"YES! Oh!"

Na YuNa was lured by the present and shouted 'yes' immediately, and immediately realized her mistake and shut her own mouth, but the bus had already departed. She shouted.

"Just make it a ring! A pretty ring!"

"Fine, I'll make you a ring. Well, then, the rest of you."

"Ah...."

The rest noticed their fates and despaired.

"I will train on Earth."

"I will also... become a little stronger."

"Kugh, to think I cannot serve His Majesty... I will also research into the undead minions."

He patted the heads of each of his subordinates. He let out a small laugh after seeing that they shook off their disappointment with that, and then proceeded to look at Liera and Yumir. He didn't really need to leave these two behind.

"Liera said she'll come, and Mir?"

Yumir seemed to hesitate a lot, but eventually shook his head.

"I also want to see grandma and grandpa, but... I'll focus on getting stronger for now. I'm still not level 299 yet."

"Okay, I understand. I'll leave the Cradle of Miracles behind."

"Yeah!"

The Cradle of Miracles reacted most sensitively to Yu IlHan and Yumir. Unlike Yu IlHan, who was only a Dragon Rider, a natural-born dragon like Yumir would be able to receive the maximum effects of the Cradle of Miracles.

"IlHan, who are we going to find first?"

"Father, he's much weaker than mother. I've also rummaged through father's belongings and acquired enough records of the world he has been to."

Before, he was calm thinking he should be doing well, but after experiencing what happened in Breya and Dareu, he was feeling hurried for some reason.

Of course, from Yu YongHan's words, Heishia, the world he had been to, was quite a peaceful world, but Yu IlHan knew better than anyone how rapidly a developing world could change.

No, he should probably be fine. He must be. – muttered Yu IlHan to himself as if to calm himself down and ordered Mystic.

"Take care of the Flying fortress. Don't forget to clean up the monsters on Earth regularly."

[Don't worry about it and leave it to me.]

"Good, then I'll be off then."

He immediately activated Warp. The range of the skill was himself and Liera, just two. Since the records about the destination was quite clear as well, it activated safely not so much after, and the two could arrive in Heishia in a blink of an eye.

"Lünaë was horribly beaten by the orc army, weren't they? The next is probably us."

"But isn't the imperial knight order still here? Let's not give up hope."

The first words he heard as soon as he came here were such strength-draining words. Yu IlHan turned his head around, and realized that they were standing on a pathway made of stones. The voice could be heard from a fruit vendor on the side.

"Knights? I don't believe in them. They appear in front of those that pay their taxes in full, but they always disappear when monsters appear around these parts. I wonder if they even have any 3rd class among their ranks."

"Will Heisha come to an end like this...? Damn, I don't want to die."

At that place were two middle-aged men. There were other vendors on the street, and a lot of other people, but the majority were speaking words laden with despair like those two men. The street had anything but liveliness and vitality.

"What the hell is up with the atmosphere here?"

"What else could it be? This place is also at the brink of destruction."

Perhaps Liera had never been to this place before, and when he translated to Liera who had question marks over her face, she blinked her two eyes and grabbed Yu IlHan's arms quickly.

"That means your father is in a dangerous situation too! Let's get him quickly and go back!"

"Thats why I'm tracking the records of my father."

"And you act quick, as always."

"But I can't find him."

Liera doubted her ears for a moment after hearing Yu IlHan's natural reply.

"...What?"

"You heard that right. I can't find the records of my father at all."

"...Even with the Record skill?"

"Even with the Record skill."

As long as Yu YongHan existed in this world, there was no way he would not be able to find a trace with the Record skill, but he currently was unable to. The Record skill that had helped tremendously since its appearance had annoyed Yu IlHan for the first time.

Liera tilted her head and spoke.

"Isn't your father also in possession of a tremendous concealment ability? If that's the case, I can understand that you can't find any records of him."

"Before, I thought that father did not have concealment, but perhaps I really didn't notice him because he is a concealment master. Dammit, I did feel that father's presence was very faint, but to think that I can't even find the records!"

"But wouldn't he be safe if he's a concealment master...?"

"There's the 'what if'. Moreover, I never saw my dad wielding mana. It's not like there are two 'Pancosmic Loner' titles... and so."

When Liera thought something foolish like "blood can't be deceived after all", Yu IlHan suddenly extended Ruin Calling and flew upwards. She followed him in a hurry.

"Just what are you going to do? You can't even find the records of him!"

"If I can't find father, then there's only one method I can take."

He didn't know if Yu YongHan had died or not, but if he was alive, there was one method he could use to make sure that he was absolutely safe.

"I just need to kill all the monsters in this world."

"..."

Liera wondered about what kind of retort she should make, but then thought that this much was indeed not much of a problem for Yu IlHan, and became silent.

And during the next 17 hours, Yu IlHan killed every single monster in the world of Heishia.

"H, how can this be! The orc colony was wiped out!"

"The yeti colony in the northern mountain range was also wiped out!"

"Oh my god. Just who caused such a miracle?"

The pseudo-apocalyptic disaster that loomed on Heishia had disappeared just like that. However, Yu IlHan's concealment did not wear off even once against the monsters, so the identity of the hero that saved the world would remain a secret for all of eternity.

Author's notes

N/A

Translator's notes

Translator: Chamber

Proofreader: Koukouseidesu

It would be a lie if he said that he wasn't worried about his father's safety, but the people he had to protect wasn't limited to just his father alone. He went around the world once more to clean up any newly generated monsters while searching for the figure of his father and any records of him, but Ilhan decided to give up after he came up with nothing.

"He should be fine. If it's his faint presence, I'm sure of it!"

"That makes me sad too so let's not talk about faint presences, okay?"

The next destination was Ya'umin, where his mother should be. So he immediately...

"Hm?"

Yu IlHan, who was checking the Record skill, suddenly tilted his head. Liera's head tilted along with his.

"What is it, IlHan?"

"No, the world mother has been to was definitely..."

The name of the world Kim YeSeul had been to was Ya'umin. If he acquired any object related to her, he could extract her records and head to Ya'umin, and had done so beforehand.

"Then you just need to go, don't you?"

"Well, the thing is."

The problem was that there were records of two worlds.

After hearing that, Liera asked with her mouth wide open.

"Two?"

"Two."

One was definitely a world called Ya'umin. He could find records of other people from earth having been there. The problem was the remaining one – there were no records of anyone else other than Kim YeSeul having been there. That was definitely strange.

"...Why are your parents so extraordinary?"

"That's what I want to ask, you ex-angel. Just how hard did you screw up your work such that my mother has been to two worlds?"

"There's no way that's possible. I've said this before, but one person was assigned only one world. If we could send a person to two worlds, there's no reason for you to be dropped out on Earth anyway."

Yu IlHan sighed a lot and thought about it, before finally coming to a conclusion.

"We can only go to both of them."

"Where are we going first then?"

"Ya'umin. Because I feel like mother won't be there."

"I also think that."

The two's gazes met and they shrugged their shoulders. Yu IlHan activated warp as soon as he was ready.

Ya'umin was a world that developed very slowly, and although the period of time that had passed after it came into contact with mana was hundreds of years greater than that of Earth, it was a world that had only experienced two Great Cataclysms. Tens of people from Earth were living a relatively peaceful life along with the residents of this world.

"There, a troll is going your way!"

"Don't let it go, get it! Wait, what are you doing in the trap!"

"I didn't expect anything from that granny anyway. Hold! Hold!"

Take a few hundred years off the development level of Heishia that they had just been to and it would probably be similar to this scene, give or take a few years.

The civilization was close to that of the middle ages, and the administration system was centered around castles and cities; the majority of the monsters were trapped in dungeons without being able to escape, and the few that did were cleared by the active adventurers and mercenaries – This was a peaceful world. Liera was touched upon seeing such a world.

"Yes, this is the ideal world I've dreamed of. I wish Earth was like this too. The Heaven's Army should have been aiming for this!'

"After seeing this, Earth feels like a post-apocalypse setting."

"Hing."

Liera's eyes became dampened once she thought about when she first became an angel. In truth, what she had experienced after becoming an angel was neither clean nor beautiful, and the battle with the other higher existence factions were very annoying and difficult... but even so, the Heaven's Army she had dreamed of, was an organization that fought to make these kinds of worlds.

"Does God really exist? What is he thinking? ...Does he not care at all about what happens to humans? ... All these questions aren't allowed to me who chose one while abandoning all the others, right?"

"...."

Yu IlHan silently grabbed Liera's hand. In fact, Liera was more important to him than anyone else could be, so he could not say anything to her.

Understanding what he was thinking, Liera also grabbed his hand back. The two stayed still like that for a moment while watching the humans work together to hunt a troll.

Yu IlHan watched as the party successfully hunted the troll and returned with the remains, before he started looking through the world in search of the records of his mother. And he found them too easily.

"Ooh, mom was here until just 3 years ago."

"By 3 years do you mean."

"Yep."

The moment Earth had expelled all the other humans.

"Do you know what's more interesting?"

"Every time you say 'interesting' it is followed by a headache... anyway, go on?"

"When mom first came over to this world, she didn't come from Earth but from another world."

"Is your mother a higher existence?"

"No, she's a lower existence alright. At least until 3 years ago."

Yu IlHan understood what Liera was trying to ask. However, the 'interesting' bit hadn't appeared yet.

"It looks like she came over here using an artifact, and it seems like that artifact is from none other than the Garden of Sunset."

"By 'that artifact', do you mean?"

"Yup."

Yu IlHan took out the transceiver that Lecidna had left behind and made a small smile.

"It looks like the item is the same one as this."

"..."

Yu IlHan was smiling right now, what would he be thinking on the inside? – Liera couldn't hide her worry and asked him.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to look for mom. Find her, and ask her."

"Ask her... then what?"

"...*Sigh*. It will be a pain if mom's cooperating with the Garden of Sunset for real."

The Garden of Sunset were a really annoying bunch. He didn't know what they were doing nor did he know in what way they planned to carry it out. He never thought that his mother would be caught up in the works between higher existence factions, and this was a painful surprise attack for him.

"IlHan, as you know, just because someone is in a faction doesn't mean that all of them have the same mindset. Look at me and Erta for example, we were both from the Heaven's Army. Perhaps the member of the Garden of Sunset your mother has met might be a good guy."

"I hope so. ...Anyway, I hope she's safe."

Yu IlHan looked at all the beings and records of the world Ya'umin before he left, but he could not find any more traces of those belonging to the Garden of Sunset. Although he did acquire some records, that was it. The member of the Garden of Sunset that lead Kim YeSeul to this world did not do anything special and had left. It was as if that guy's objective was to solely bring her here.

"Okay, then let's go to the second world."

"Yeah."

Yu IlHan resolved himself and activated the Warp skill again. The skill activates successfully and brought them to a new world.

That place, in one word, was 'chaos'.

[New wanderers have come.]

[Oh my, you're right. Were these people lost in their path too?]

[Wait, I feel a familiar aura from one child.]

The world they arrived on had no differentiation between the sky and the ground, between the sea and the land, and between life and death. This kind of world would neither progress nor regress. It just cycled endlessly, and halted endlessly! (T/N: Yes he did just write 'halt' 'endlessly')

[Where did you come from?]

[From where did you come?]

Ones with fluid bodies that glowed half-translucently, by Earthen standards, these being would be called 'spirits' or 'elementals' – they, flew over to the two and asked. Yu IlHan looked at the world glowing in countless colors and spoke in a low voice.

"I'm Yu IlHan. I'm from Earth. Is the person by the name 'Kim YeSeul' In this place?"

[So that's it. He is YeSeul's son.]

[He is full of chaos. Oh my, he has the blood of the Garden of Sunset on him as well.]

[Moreover, he's still a lower existence.]

[Quite an interesting being. I'll answer you. YeSeul is indeed here.]

More spirits flew over and played pranks while flying around Yu IlHan and Liera. Yu IlHan first activated the Record skill in attempt to absorb all the information about his surroundings. As all of them were records he had come into contact to for the first time, the skill rose by about 5 levels at once.

[He's looking through us.]

[He is the Fifth.]

[He is the one that shall become the Fifth God.]

Yu IlHan couldn't hold back and ended up asking them.

"I think you mean that I'll make the fifth higher existence faction, but why do you judge it as so?"

[The succubus that is with you shall kindly answer if you ask her.]

"What!? Oh, you have her thought-soul!"

"Ah, yeah, I do, but...."

He did indeed possess a thought-soul of a succubus, if they were referring to the one that was still annoying him even after she had died. Perhaps due to mastering Death Collector, he could acquire quite a thick portion of the soul. However, he had buried it somewhere deep in his consciousness because he didn't want to face it.

[Garden of Sunset, Heaven's Army, Army of Brilliant Light, Destruction Demon Army.]

[The four transcenders have formed a balance, but you shall become the fifth.]

[You who has fulfilled all the requirements; requirements too numerous to be listed out.]

[The balance will crumble, and there will be a huge war.]

"I do want to become a higher existence, but... a war you say."

Yu IlHan shrugged his shoulders. He only wanted to live in peace. It was just that, if the previous him would be satisfied with living alone peacefully, the current him just had a little more people inside the boundaries of his fences.

"But doesn't that mean that it's pretty much guaranteed that IlHan can become a higher existence? I'm a little reassured now!"

"Good, Liera. I'll learn from your positive attitude and let go of all my worries from now."

He wasn't the type to hesitate walking forward because of the fear of an obstacle. Whether it was a war or the fifth faction, he only had to think about it when the time came. Yu IlHan decided to put an end to his thoughts there.

Right now, what was important was not that, but his mother Kim YeSeul.

[The skill, Record, has become level 62.]

"Found her. Let's go."

"Ah, okay."

[May the blessing of the chaos be with you.]

[YeSeul has stopped along with the world. Please take her out with you.]

The spirits didn't follow him and threw words that sounded like both a curse and a blessing. Yu IlHan did not reply to them and hurried on his way.

This size of this world was difficult to grasp, and it was also very hard to differentiate between paths and non-paths. The two went across the skies as if walking on land, and when they lost the track of time, they could finally arrive at the place where differentiation between matter was evident.

"Ah, that place."

"Yes."

At that place was Yu IlHan's mother, Kim YeSeul. She was sitting on top of a rock, staring at the surface of the water while controlling her mana, and according to the movements of the mana, the bubbles of water above the surface moved according to different speeds.

"Oh my."

However, the moment Kim YeSeul noticed the presences of Yu IlHan and Liera, the water bubbles lost their force and fell down to the surface of the water.

"I was found."

"I'm glad that you're safe. Mom."

Looking at Kim YeSeul who looked like she had become younger by about five years or so, Yu IlHan made a bitter smile. People say that the more you know, the more you see, and it seemed that it was true. Before, he thought that his mother was not 4th class yet, but looking at things now, that was an absurd statement.

"My son, you've become tremendously stronger in the meantime."

"Were you in this state the whole time?"

"Well, apparently so.... My growth stopped long time ago. After that, I keep hitting loops like this."

Kim YeSeul made an awkward smile and shrugged her shoulders. Yu IlHan could only smile in return.

She was a 4th class at level 299.

Author's notes

N/A

Translator's notes

$412 -> $312 is the queue right now

Translator: Chamber

Proofreader: Koukouseidesu, RawR Boosted

"Oh my, the angel is no longer an angel."

"But I've gotten your son instead."

"My, my."

Liera put her arm around Yu IlHan's and declared firmly as Kim YeSeul's eyes shined.

"I had a hunch it would come to this."

"Jeez, you should have told me before then."

Yu IlHan grumbled, but did not shake Liera off. Kim YeSeul's smile became thicker.

"Then should I expect the second grandson soon?"

"I'll try!"

Liera tapped her ample breasts as if to say 'leave it to me'. Yu IlHan changed topics from this embarrassing chain of events with a sigh.

"So mom, I can ask you what happened to you until now, right?"

"Of course, my son. Instead... talk about yourself to mom, alright? Everything that happened to you."

"Yeah."

Right now, there was no need to hide it anymore. Kim YeSeul looked at her son's unshaken eyes and let out a small smile before speaking.

"Yes, then... I should talk about how I first came to this world."

"Did mom come here when the people of Earth were sent to numerous other worlds in preparation for the Great Cataclysm?"

"Yes. Mom calls this place the 'Model Garden'."

"And you came here alone?"

"Yes. Alone."

Kim YeSeul pointed at the objects in her surroundings and spoke.

"Do you know how panicked I was? I couldn't even see properly, nor did I know where this place was. I couldn't even tell if I was sitting, standing or lying down. When I was dropped in such a world, there were horrifying monsters, though, they're not here anymore. They couldn't hurt your mom at all though."

It was as if the people and the monsters native to that world could not hurt the people of Earth due to the contract with the Heaven's Army. However, this shouldn't have been the case here. This world, the 'Model Garden', was devoid of any records of the Heaven's Army.

Instead, he could feel the aura of the Garden of Sunset. In other words, the Model Garden was a world under the management of the Garden of Sunset.

"All that mom could do was to breathe. It was good that I did not become hungry no matter how much time passed. And when some more time passed... Oh, did you meet the spirits of this place?"

"Yeah."

"Yes. They became mom's friends. The reason I could feel mana was all thanks to them as well."

After first feeling mana and becoming able to wield it, Kim YeSeul did not count the flow of time and focused on training in mana. In fact, she couldn't do anything else but that.

There were no teachers to teach her magic, so all she could do was to emit mana and roll it around in space, and ironically, that allowed her to learn the magic related to space-time.

"That means..."

"Oh, you found out already?"

Kim YeSeul pointed at the surface of the ware. The water bubbles that she was handling with mana before, the water bubbles that should have fallen to the surface and be merged with the water were maintaining their form as if they were solid, and were rolling on top of the surface.

"Everything in the Model Garden is halted. Whether it's time, or space. Trying to forcefully move mana inside it allowed me to naturally develop the abilities to manipulate them."

"That shouldn't be as easy as you say. Your talent must be amazing."

"Fufu, I'm not so sure about that. Anyway, I learnt magic like that. Following that."

Excluding the fact that he couldn't train to become able to wield mana, what she had experienced was very similar to what Yu IlHan himself had experienced. Yu IlHan licked his lips in search of something to say, but couldn't say anything. No one could measure another's pain. Kim YeSeul smiled slightly as if she understood him and continued speaking.

"How long has it been since I started training magic? Anyway, I then had the confidence to win against the monsters in the Model Garden. At that time, the spirits requested that I follow them for the first time, and I erased the monsters along with them. It was an endlessly long fight, but they couldn't harm me. Mom could only win."

"And that's how your level rose?"

The three in this place were all at level 299, but Yu IlHan had reached that level through killing numerous higher existences to the point that even he himself thought he was OP, while Liera had broken through her limits after a long period of training. However, there was no way they could just accept it with 'Oh that's what happened', just because they were told that Kim YeSeul's level was 299.

"It did. It did a lot. The last one just allowed me to get to level 299."

"Just how many did you kill?"

"Like I said last time, I did not bother counting their numbers while fighting, nor did I bother counting the time. Just remembering is a little painful."

And at the end.

"The spirits gave mom a present. Son, you've heard about the Garden of Sunset, right?"

"Yeah."

"It was an artifact that allowed me to come into contact with them, and go to the world where all the other people of Earth were. Mom used that and could finally go to Ya'umin. And when I did, I saw the ladies of the district."

When Kim YeSeul escaped the Model Garden and arrived at Ya'umin, the other people of Earth had just arrived in Ya'umin. It was akin to how no time would pass if Yu IlHan spent two months in the barrier created by the Hourglass of Eternity.

Although there was a huge difference in scale, it was definitely something similar to what Yu IlHan and Yumir had experienced while they were apart, had happened to her as well. At the time she realized that her countless years of time was less than an instant, how would she have felt. Yu IlHan couldn't possibly imagine.

However, her voice was still very calm.

"After that was nothing strange. Magic to conceal my true self was simple. And like that, I've hidden my true self and lived there for 10 years. After that, I came to Earth."

"And the records about you in the Akashic Record were deleted?"

"Just the time I lived in Ya'umin, that is."

That meant that, Kim YeSeul was level 299 upon the time she returned to Earth. During the Great Cataclysm, the strongest of Earth was not Yu IlHan but his mother!

Yu IlHan became dumbfounded. Let's leave aside the fact that he may not have noticed since he couldn't even wield mana at that time...

"Hey, ex-angel."

"I didn't know, I really didn't! I was completely in the dark about this!? I don't get how I couldn't know but I didn't!"

Looking at Liera's eyes, it seemed that she really didn't know. Well, this shouldn't only apply to Liera, but all the other angels dispatched to Earth. Although his faith in the Heaven's Army had disappeared long time ago, he thought once again that they were not a reliable organization!

Kim YeSeul's story still had a little bit left.

"And while I was going back and forth to Ya'umin like that, the Garden of Sunset contacted me again."

"Was it an offer to become 5th class under the Garden of Sunset?"

"No, it was about the magic formation. The magic formation that the Destruction Demon Army and the Army of Brilliant Light schemed with. I've got information about those."

"So they were in it as well...!"

"I've heard that I should just open a barrier and hide without ever coming into contact with those formations."

"Huh?"

Yu IlHan's head tilted for the first time. Kim YeSeul's lips had curved into a bitter smile.

"At that time, mom was actually suspicious of the Garden of Sunset. If everything went normally, I would have been with all the other ladies, but somehow, only mom was dropped in this Model Garden. Moreover, I've heard that this place was under the jurisdiction of the Garden of Sunset, so it wouldn't be strange if I thought that all my suffering was because of the Garden of Sunset, right?"

Yu IlHan also thought that.

Of course, he did not know how they snatched Kim YeSeul in the middle and drop her in the Model Garden, nor did he know why their target was Kim YeSeul. Perhaps Yu IlHan and Kim YeSeul really had hidden talents, and the Garden of Sunset had schemed to take the two after knowing that beforehand.

If not, it was also possible Kim YeSeul was dropped in the Model Garden like how Yu IlHan was dropped out on Earth simply because 'God couldn't find him', but the probability of that would be low. No, in fact, Yu IlHan even doubted that his dropout was a 'mistake' in the first place.

"And so, I did the opposite. Since you weren't here, IlHan, I asked MiRae, YuNa, and Mir and started erasing those formations. However, the result was this. Moreover, now I'm back in the Model Garden and not Ya'umin, so... they gave me the right advice after all."

It wasn't just a day or two that they were unable to comprehend what the Garden of Sunset was thinking. Yu IlHan delayed his judgement on whether they wanted something from Kim YeSeul or not. Right now, there was something more important than that.

"...And so, mom. How long have you lived after that?"

She said that time did not flow despite living countless years in the Model garden. Then, now that 3 years had passed and Yu IlHan had come here, how much time did she spend in this place? Is her existence even true?

Kim YeSeul replied with a smile.

"3 years."

"...Huh?"

"3 years. Son. Mom's confident in her ability to count time now. As far as I know, it has been exactly 3 years."

Strength drained from him. No, wait. Yu IlHan also didn't experience any gap in time after his 1 thousand years of being a dropout, so perhaps this was normal.

Anyway, this was very good. It was very good that Yu IlHan could find his mother like this. It was good that he didn't take any longer.

"Well, then. Should I hear from you next? Mom has confidence to not be surprised no matter what story you will tell."

"Well, I do feel that what I've experienced is tiny in comparison after hearing you, but...ok, here it goes."

Yu IlHan thought of something while speaking. This was the first time he spoke about his millennium dropout period. And in such a strange place as well, to his mom who looked to be about in her mid-twenties too... he made a bitter smile.

"I didn't fall somewhere strange, but rather was left alone on Earth..."

Yu IlHan compressed his story as much as he could. About four chapters of worth if it was written. However, that was enough for Kim YeSeul to understand about him. What the two have experienced, in the end, were similar.

"So that's what happened. My son, you've suffered a lot."

Yu IlHan thought that what Kim YeSeul had experienced would be even more harsh than him, but Kim YeSeul thought the opposite. Yu IlHan looked at Kim YeSeul's eyes becoming red and hurriedly added.

"I've said this from the beginning, but I wasn't alone. Lita... Liera was there with me."

"Dear, dear... you've suffered, haven't you. My baby."

Since she heard all of Yu IlHan's story, she should realize that he had lived for over a thousand years. However, Kim YeSeul did not care about that and embraced him.

"Mom...."

Although the scene was very strange on the outside, Yu IlHan felt like a heavy load being lifted off him when he was embraced by his mother.

"Yeah.... It was hard."

"Yes, yes."

Yu IlHan stayed in Kim YeSeul's embrace. He was laughing and crying at the same time and even he thought it was weird.

"Here, you come here too, my other child."

"Uh, me? But I..."

"Just come."

"Ok."

Even Liera ended up in Kim YeSeul's arms. How long had it been since she had forgotten about the existence of a mother? Liera felt the wonderful feeling of motherly love after a long time. She subconsciously relaxed.

In the unflowing world where space and time had stopped, the three stayed still like that for quite a while.

When enough time passed for the three of them to calm down, Kim YeSeul finally asked about her husband.

"And you couldn't find him?"

"Yeah, not even a trace. I did clean up the monsters in that world though, to be safe."

"That man, he even hid from his son. I had such a painful time while we were dating too..."

Kim YeSeul spoke in longing. Even though it was not an optimistic situation, she made Yu IlHan nervous as well.

"It should be fine. That man isn't one that would die somewhere unknown. He'll appear like nothing had happened once the seal on Earth is dispelled, so don't worry."

"I am really curious about where you get your confidence from, but... okay. Let's go back to Earth then."

"Yes, let's do that. Though, I'm quite amazed that you can just return with me like that."

She had heard about the long period of time he had to spend on Earth, she had heard about the things he had experienced as well. However, despite that, she still could not believe the realm Yu IlHan was currently at. Kim YeSeul thought that that was the difference in talent.

"IlHan will open his way to being a higher existence soon, so you... um, mother can also join the faction then!"

"It'll be great if that were so."

At that time, Yu IlHan looked back at Kim YeSeul and spoke.

"Mom, I do not think that there is a need for you to fight as well. Not all strong people have to fight, and I also became this strong while I fought for survival..."

"IlHan, mom can judge that much."

Kim YeSeul gave a smack on his forehead and spoke playfully.

"How can this mom be left out when her son is suffering? Son, you do your own thing. I'll just follow you all by myself."

"Ugh."

Kim YeSeul's stubbornness was quite strong – to the point that Yu IlHan's own stubbornness could be said to come from her as well. He felt stifled because he couldn't express all his emotions that he wanted to put across to his mother, but Kim YeSeul even understood those feelings of his as well.

"I heard you've got a lot of friends now? I want to see them soon."

"Yes, they're all 'friends'."

Spoke Liera as if to declare. However, where did Yu IlHan's quick-wittedness come from? Kim YeSeul immediately realized the things Liera wanted to hide and her eyes glistened.

"Really? So there are more 'girls' that are 'still' 'friends' 'for now'?"

"You just called me your child though, mother!"

"My new child. My son is going to become an amazing man, and amazing people need more people to support him. Let's go see them. Quickly."

Liera became dejected and Kim YeSeul became delusional, while Liera put the three inside his range of his skill and activated Warp. As if they noticed their leaving, the spirits appeared by crossing through space.

[Our precious friend YeSeul. May you never come to this place again.]

[May you be happy, may you proceed forward.]

[The movements of the Garden of Sunset are strange. They are those that can become allies, or enemies. However, they are more dangerous when they're allies than when they're enemies. Remember this.]

"My precious friends, I shall not forget you."

Kim YeSeul nodded her head deeply to the ones that were with her for eons. The next moment, Yu IlHan's skill activated and moved the three to Earth.

"Ah, he's back!"

"Mr. IlHaaan!"

The ones that were waiting for Yu IlHan to come back reacted all at once. The most surprising was Na Yuna's, and the moment she noticed Kim YeSeul was with him, she immediately ran into her arms.

"Mother, I wanted to see you~!"

"Yes, so you're the second?"

"Yes, I'm the second~!"

Kim YeSeul's forehead was filled with cold sweat after hearing Na YuNa's reply that contained not the slightest bit of hesitation.

"I didn't know that you'd admit it so openly without considering pride or whatnot. My son is really blessed."

"It's because he is capable!"

Na Yuna's body emitted a charming fragrance as she smiled flawlessly. It was not a perfume, but was a fragrance from condensed mana. Yu IlHan immediately realized.

"It seems like you really did get your 4th class in that short amount of time."

"Hehe, aren't I good?"

Na YuNa was currently filled with confidence. With acquiring 4th class, her status and skills would have changed dramatically, so it was not strange that she felt so high. Yu IlHan asked lightly to Na YuNa who was looking straight up to him after leaving Kim YeSeul's arm.

"Then what's your current level?"

"It shot up after I got 4th class and it's 279 now~."

"Wao."

The one with the most contribution after Yu IlHan in this war in Dareu was neither Liera nor Yumir but Na YuNa. She managed the two holy regions in the two fortresses and gave blessings to all the ones in the region – wide-area buff – and she was also the only one that was in a party with every one of those members.

The amount of experience she had earned was naturally the second largest after Yu IlHan, and now that she had acquired 4th class, she was now very close to level 280. She had not only acquire her subclass, but had an 80 level increase as well and the mana in her possession increased drastically, and her already strong holy power was now capable of surprising even higher existences.

"The people of Earth really aren't normal. The probability of IlHan and Na YuNa being born within the sme world must be absurd."

"Please praise me more, unni! More!"

"But now, I'm going to deliver the punishment."

"Ugyaaaaaaaak."

Na YuNa was bullied by Liera after exposing her desires. Everyone left the two alone. Liera's punishment was truly evil in the sense that the ones punished were in for an extreme amount of pain, but the two looked very close on the outside.

"I'm Erta. I have greeted you in another form once before, but right now, I'm a human as well."

"Oh my, the third?"

"I don't get what you're saying."

Meanwhile, Erta properly introduced herself to Kim YeSeul. Unlike the foolish-looking Na YuNa, she acted very composed, but she could not deceive Kim YeSeul. She made a smile while looking at Erta's thick green eyes.

"Yes, please take care of me from now on."

"...Likewise."

"But I think I saw another angel before. Where is she now?"

Kim YeSeul's words made the atmosphere freeze for a little. Erta looked at Yu IlHan for a moment, and he nodded his head without hesitation. He could not hide things from his mother.

"She has died. She had different views from us, and after a fight... Yu IlHan killed her."

"Oh my."

Erta's honest reply made Kim YeSeul unable to speak for a little. An otherwise insignificant

question had given her the worst possible answer.

"You may experience this a lot if you are with us. Yu IlHan is not the pure and naive little child you think he once was. I think I should tell you this beforehand."

"...I know that much. He couldn't have saved all of these people if he lived so kindly."

Kim YeSeul looked at her son. She licked her lips as if to say something, and she ended up nodding her head.

"You cannot return to your current self once you die, son. Please remember that."

"Yes. I'll keep that in mind."

"Yes, that's fine."

The two ended their conversation here. In the world that was transformed into a mess, they could not live with the thoughts of a 21st century person. Right now, this should be fine.

"G, greetings! I'm master's loyal servant Ericia."

Ericia appeared as soon as the conversation ended. The silver ears on her head was folded politely, and looking at her, Kim YeSeul's eyes widened once again.

"Oh my, I'm not such a great person for all this politeness…"

"I'm His Majesty's..."

With Ericia as the beginning, Yu IlHan's companions and subordinates all nodded towards Kim YeSeul's head. Kim YeSeul could finally feel that her loner son had actually changed a lot. Of course, what surprised her the most was the Dragon's Army lead by Yumir.

"Whoaa!"

"Oh my."

"It's a pretty noona."

"Hi noona!"

"My, my. So many cute little kids..."

Kim YeSeul knew that these were the last survivors of the children who were born after the Great Cataclysm, also known as newtypes, as she heard from Yu IlHan. So, she couldn't honestly be happy about this situation.

How many lives had been lost for them to stand here currently? How much pain and suffering was there? Just imagining it made her heart ache.

"Come here. Let me give you all a hug once."

"Yeah!"

"Ehihi."

However, she couldn't really cry when the children were in front of her were all smiling brightly. She hugged each and every one of the children that neared 8,000 in number, with a smile.

"Everyone is strong and feeling confident. Mir has tried his best."

"Yes, grandma. I did well, didn't I?"

"Of course, you did. As expected of my grandson."

"Wow, she's the hero's grandma!"

"Amazing!"

The children rejoiced when they heard that she had the same blood as him and was embraced by Kim YeSeul. Yu IlHan watched that scene and was relieved on the inside.

Although they followed Yu IlHan and Yumir, the emotional qualities of the two could not be considered normal. Perhaps Kim YeSeul would be able to fill the void which was left in the children's hearts. He honestly wished that it would become as such.

"Sir Yu IlHan."

Leaving them to their touching moments, Kang HaJin checked with Yu IlHan.

"What are you planning to do now?"

"We need to go find Miss MiRae. You wanted that answer right?"

"Uh... I'm sorry to sound like I'm urging you to."

"It's fine. She's my friend as well. Though, I do want to make some equipment since I have a lot of materials to use..."

Yu IlHan checked the status of the Hourglass of Eternity in his inventory. Although a lot of things happened and felt like three months had passed since he last left the barrier, it hadn't even been ten days.

"I'll have plenty of time to do that in the Hourglass of Eternity. I now know that something disastrous may happen if I slack around, I'm planning to focus on the people now."

"...Thanks. You're a great person."

"I'm also thankful. You are the only conscient person in our team."

"So you do know that… Though, the 'sole conscience' does sound pretty sad..."

The two exchanged bitter smiles. Then, he turned around.

"Then should we depart then."

"I'm looking forward to MiRae's surprised face when we she sees us."

Yu IlHan headed to the mansion with big steps, but suddenly stopped midway. Liera, Na Yuna, Kang HaJin, the elves, the wolfkin, as well as the Dragon's Army and Kim YeSeul all focused their attention on him.

He spoke.

Before that, should we have a meal?"

***

Lanpas prospered with the development of magic, which was overwhelming compared to numerous other worlds. And at the center, Palladia, something that could be called landscape-changing was happening.

[You have achieved a miracle that all beings in the world cannot believe. You have pioneered a new realm of the Akashic Record, and has earned the qualifications to become a mage of the 4th class.]

[From now, you will pioneer the realm of mystery, unknown to anyone. No one knows what kind of place you will arrive at after you experience countless trials and difficulties. The god of magic bestows a blessing on you. All mana used in magic decreases by half, and once a month, you may recover all your consumed mana.]

"M, MiRae."

The empress of the empire, Irma An Ill'ta, spoke with a trembling voice. Despite her age nearing thirties, her face was flawless without a wrinkle, and was currently colored in shock, and looked as if she was ten years older.

"Just what did you do?"

A faint blue gate was floating on one side of the room. The one that made it, Kang MiRae, had glistening eyes as she let out a smile while speaking.

"It looks like I can go meet Mr. IlHan now."

Lanpas, even after all those years had passed, was as lively as ever. Yu IlHan and the others slowly flew through the airs of the Palladian Empire on the two fortresses.

"It's good that nothing happened here."

Yu IlHan muttered just as shivers ran down in his spine. Something always happened in manga or novels when this line was said! However, Liera calmed him down from the side.

"If universe-shaking things happen wherever we go, there's no way this world was maintained like this until now." (T/N: 'wherever we go?' looks at title.)

"But with Yu IlHan here, I'm not sure what might happen."

Erta reacted with a voice full of worry. She thought that if Yu IlHan, who was at odds with all the existing higher existence factions right now, started something big for real, the angels in charge of this world would be the first ones to react sensitively.

However, it was Yu IlHan this time that sniggered and shook his head.

"Oh, it's fine. They can't do anything. I can speak from experience of having hung out with them for over a thousand years, so you can trust me."

"My beloved honey, can we have a little talk over there?"

"...Wait."

Yu IlHan pushed back Liera who was trying to head-lock him and pointed somewhere. Liera thought she would purposely get deceived and turned around her head, when she was shocked by the pillar of light shooting out from one part of the imperial capital.

"Something did happen as soon as Ilhan arrived!"

"Hey! That's not my fault! Dammit, I knew it felt too serene!"

He was done in even while knowing that he had foreshadowed. This was disgraceful and greatly besmirched his reputation as a foreshadow meister. Yu IlHan bit his lips while emitting his own mana to imbue into the Flying fortress.

"Mystic, hurry! Maximum speed!"

[I'll do it even if you didn't tell me to!]

The two fortresses sped up immediately. With Na YuNa's blessing, the two left a trail of white light in the air. The pillar of light was now starting to dissipate, but Yu IlHan knew exactly where that place was. It was none other than the imperial castle of Palladia!

"I think this is Miss MiRae..."

"Don't say it since anything you say will be a foreshadow, IlHan."

"Sheesh. How am I going to live on like this?"

The Flying fortress suddenly stopped in the air. At that moment, Yu IlHan extended his Ruin Calling without any hesitation and jumped down from the Flying fortress. Right now, there was no need to maintain concealment.

"Mr. Ilhan!?"

At that moment a balcony on the west of the castle opened and Kang MiRae rushed out. Looking at her, who now had an even more mystic aura around her after a few years, Yu IlHan realized that she had entered 4th class and stopped right in front of her.

"It's been a while."

"How can this be? Are you really the Mr. Yu IlHan? I just completed a method to go meet you right now..."

"Coming to meet me? How can you..."

Yu IlHan was about to ask but then saw the state of the room beyond the balcony. A mysterious current of mana was raging inside, and in the middle was a vortex of blackish-blue current of mana that lead to an unknown place.

"...?"

He immediately realized the identity of that vortex. Once, those vortices appeared on Earth in a huge scale. However, he did not know why they existed inside Kang MiRae's room.

Although he didn't think this was true, did Lanpas start walking on the same development path as Earth? Or did Kang MiRae make that thing? In whichever case, it still did not make any sense.

"Miss MiRae, that is..."

"Mr. IlHan, it really is you..."

However, the one with the ability to answer that question, Kang MiRae, seemed to have a hard time believing that he was here, and only looked at his face.

"Oh, my, how amazing. Did you make this with your power alone, MiRae?"

"Mother too!?"

Kim YeSeul, who appeared a step behind Yu IlHan exclaimed after looking at the vortex inside the room. Looking at her who was flying in the air leisurely, as expected of a mage that manipulated space, Kang MiRae took a step back when some uninvited guests appeared as well.

[Don't tell me this is the place... that means a human really, Mm!?]

A pair of white feathery wings behind the back, as well as a luminescent golden halo above the head – this could only refer to one being. The limbs of the Heaven's Army, an angel, had finally shown himself here.

Even though Yu IlHan hadn't done anything!

[I, I never thought you'd be so daring as to walk around in other worlds, Yu IlHan.]

"You're a 5th class right? To think my name was even to the mobs like you, I did become somewhat famous I guess."

Although Yu IlHan didn't know why the male angel had come to find Kang MiRae, the male angel shivered slightly after looking at Yu IlHan and took a step back. Fear of Yu IlHan filled his eyes. Along with the trembling body, his voice also started to tremble.

[What do you mean mob. You're very rude to an angel of the Heaven's A-a-army!]

"Hmph."

All higher existences belonging to a faction can only utilize their powers on a lower world solely in order to protect themselves. Meaning, they could only counteract after being hit.

Although this shouldn't be a problem normally since there is no way a lower existence could harm a higher existence first, but Yu IlHan was a super beast that can disintegrate not only 5th classes but a 6th class as well! The angel had actually done well to not run away after seeing him.

Well, the pride that he was once at the top of his own world made him stay.

[Wh, why are you here?]

"..."

Yu IlHan pondered. Not about whether he should talk about his objective or not, but whether to kill him or not. However, he came to a conclusion that there was no need to kill him unless he attacked first.

Although he killed all of the higher existences in Dareu as they were considered enemies, this place was not Dareu. Moreover, if he went around killing the angels just because he didn't like the Heaven's Army, the balance of the world will be broken.

Of course, it did frustrate him that Heaven had abandoned Earth. He was also enraged when they offered him an alliance so shamelessly after all they had done. He still thought that his rage towards Spiera was justified.

However, it wasn't like all angels knew of this fact, and amongst them were probably angels that were doing their jobs for pure intentions like how Liera once was. For example, this angel in front of him.

"...Fine, then."

Yu IlHan didn't take out his weapon. Of course, the Heaven's Army was potentially his enemy. He would not go looking for angels to kill – this was his decision.

"I came to find my friend, and I found her. I'm going to leave with her if she wishes so, did that answer you?"

[By friend... you mean this woman?]

"Yes?"

[I, is that so?]

For some reason, the angel started to sweat profusely after hearing Yu IlHan's answer. Yu IlHan's glare at him strengthened. Now, it was Kang MiRae's turn to be confused.

Didn't Yu IlHan give off the feeling that he was close to the Heaven's Army since he had angels by his side all the time? Why do they feel so hostile now? In retrospect, she couldn't see the angels that were usually by his side, but did something bad happen to them?

She would be sad since she had a debt of gratitude towards them. However, that meant that his 'side' would be empty, and there would be a chance for her as well? Why did she think of such horrible and disgusting thoughts first? Was she such a bad person? But despite that, she could not hold herself back from her heart pounding whenever she thought that she could stand by his side.

Perhaps the implication behind him coming to find her before she could go to him, meant that he wanted to meet her? If so, if that was really the case...!

Countless doubts and dubious emotions raged inside Kang MiRae's heart and lead her to a state of confusion, when something made her come to herself immediately. Mystic had judged that Yu IlHan and Kim YeSeul were taking too long and dispelled the concealment.

"Whoa!"

[Whoa!]

"MiRaeeeeeeee!"

"*Sigh*."

And Na YuNa who jumped down even though she didn't have the ability to fly! Yu IlHan sighed and caught her in the air. Na YuNa, who went into Yu IlHan's arms like a princess falling into the arms of the prince, giggled and waved her hand towards Kang MiRae.

"I wanted to see you, MiRae!"

"...Did you want to see me, or did you just want to be in Mr. IlHan's arms?"

"The former weighs sliiiiightly more!"

Although it was very like her to not deny the latter... Kang MiRae only made a vain laugh. The pink-colored hope and dreams inside her had all burst.

The fact that Na YuNa was here as well meant that Yu IlHan was just going around collecting companions, and also meant that she was later in priority than her... And here, she even developed magic to leap through dimensions just to meet Yu IlHan once more!

Right now, she felt like crying in an unknown dimension somewhere. Seeing her, Na YuNa consoled her.

"I get what you're thinking but it's not like that, MiRae. I sent an SOS to Mr. IlHan in the first place. That's why he came to meet me first, it's not like you were later in priority or anything!"

"Yes, that consoles me sooo much. ... And so? Did everything work out well? How about big brother?"

Kang MiRae worried for her brother's safety even while thinking that Na YuNa was hateful. Na YuNa made a smile and nodded her head.

"Everything went well and HaJin-oppa is safe as well. Although he was mentally shocked in the process, but the results are fine! But what is that frightening vortex inside the room?"

[Yes, the vortex! The gate to leap dimensions!]

The angel, that had shrunk from the presences of the frightening combination of Yu IlHan, Kim YeSeul and Na YuNa, suddenly raised his voice.

[We need that power! The Heaven's Army is in dire straits right now!]

"Oh, ok. That's not my problem, but I'm not sure it's wrong to bring a lower existence to a battlefield where higher existences are fighting. What do you think Miss Mi-"

Yu IlHan turned around to Kang MiRae to ask what she thought but was surprised. He thought she was conversing with Na YuNa, but her eyes were still fixated on him.

"Miss, Miss MiRae?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I still can't believe that Mr. IlHan is in front of me..."

"..."

Very uneasy.

What was uneasy, was that – although he thought this wouldn't make any sense, but still – she might have a feeling of attraction towards him, just in a very high order of magnitude. If something happened once, it may not happen again, but if something happened twice, it will definitely happen again, no?

Na YuNa in his arms looked up towards him with warm eyes. As if saying 'you're right' which made Yu IlHan very uneasy and made him ignore her gaze and asked Kang MiRae once again.

"What do you think, Miss MiRae? This angel seems to be in need of your power."

"I..."

[Yes, human, please! This is an opportunity to give the Heaven's Army a massive grace!]

Kang MiRae spoke with the brightest smile she could make.

"I have obtained this power in order to meet Mr. IlHan. So... I want to use it for Mr. IlHan as well."

[...Ooh, shit.]

The angel sighed. Yu IlHan wanted to sigh as well.

"Fufu, it looks like my blood is thicker in my son's blood."

Only Kim YeSeul, who had set her sights on the 'fourth candidate', had a bright smile.

Author's notes

The only one that has full understanding of Yu IlHan is Yu IlHan himself.

Fortunately, his companions hadn't broken away from him!

Translator's notes

Here's an untranslated author's note 3 – Merry Christmas!

Didn't translate since it's like, the opposite of Christmas…. (not christmas)

With these three (1 regular + 2 sponsored)

the sponsor queue is down to $212!

PR: 262 – 150 = 112, was supposed to release 3 yesterday but i moved it over to today~

Kang MiRae asked Yu IlHan straight to the face.

"What do you think, Mr. IlHan? As I see it, the relationship between you and the Heaven's Army doesn't seem to be the same before. Did you escape the relationship of unconditionally lending your strength to them?"

"You can think of it that way. Right now, I do not think that I should help them while putting you in danger."

Smelling thick despair from their conversation, the angel shouted hurriedly.

[We really are in a serious situation! The very existence of the Heaven's Army is in crisis at this moment! I do not know why you bear such hostility to us of the Heaven's Army? But if the Destruction Demon Army takes over a portion of our world, then things would become irreversible!]

"I get that Miss MiRae did something incredible... but her powers can affect so much of your fight?"

[That's natural!... Can you wait a little moment? It looks like someone with more authority than me will be coming here directly.]

Looking at the ring above the angel's head flashing, it seemed like signals were being transmitted back and forth. Yu IlHan looked at his surroundings, and shook his head after seeing the citizens of the imperial capital staring at the Flying fortress that seemed to have appeared after the pillar of light had disappeared.

"Then let's switch locations first."

"Yes. Then..."

When Kang MiRae shook her hand, the current of mana raging inside the room was sucked back into her. It was as if countless stars were moving according to the flow of the galaxy.

"Wao."

"Really a beautiful flow of mana. I cannot utilize mana in such a way..."

"Miss MiRae is a genius. ...But that's really amazing."

A portion of the countless particles of mana glowing in blue, black, red, or even yellow were absorbed back into her body, and the rest floated around her as if to protect her. Looking at such a scene, they could only smile. A single act allowed her to do what many higher existences couldn't.

With so many amazing people around them, it was no wonder that higher existences looked relatively puny to them! Even the angel that was seeing all this had become dumbstruck.

They thought they just had to switch locations now, but she suddenly bowed towards the room.

"Your Majesty, thank you for everything until now."

"...I know you'd try to leave like that."

Although there were many great auras in the room and hers was hidden behind many, the empress of the empire, Irma An Ill'ta was still inside the room. Although there was some dust on her dress as she had fallen due to the berserk mana in the room, Yu IlHan decided to pretend not to know about it.

"This, take it."

"Ah, Your Majesty?"

She made a bitter smile after her eyes met Yu IlHan's, and threw the item in her hand towards Kang MiRae. Kang MiRae utilized her mana swirling around and softly caught it with her hand.

"This is...?"

It was a small container, and when she opened it, there were two high-class rings in there. Kang MiRae's eyes widened when the empress spoke while scratching her head.

"Although that's nothing in comparison to the artifacts that sir Yu IlHan makes... that's the treasure of the empire containing the essence of all the empire, and has been passed down from generation to generation within the empire. You can put it on without considering the artifact equip limit so do make sure to share one with sir Yu IlHan."

"Your Majesty..."

There's no way she didn't know what this meant. Kang MiRae blushed red, and Yu IlHan's sighs increased. She closed the container and put it inside her bosom and bowed once again.

"I'll come back sometime."

"Yes, that's the farewell I expected. The two of us can meet later in the future, right?"

"Of course."

"Fufu, then that's fine. Sir Yu IlHan. I'll take care of the commotion outside so can you take care of the matter between her and the higher existence?"

"Let us do it that way then."

Although Yu IlHan thought that she was as playful as ever, it seemed like she had become a lot more mature after becoming the empress. Yu IlHan once again felt the flow of time in somewhere unexpected and made a bitter smile.

"Then farewell."

Yu IlHan lightly bowed towards Irma An Ill'ta and lead the angel as well as the others to the Flying fortress. The angel could not hide his shock the closer he went to the fortress.

[Just what is this floating fortress... this does not make any sense. To think you can make such a miracle with such low-grade materials! Just what is up with the people of Earth to surpass history so many times!?]

[Low-grade!? You called a lady low-grade!?]

[It's a compliment so don't get so angry.]

Despite Orochi consoling her, Mystic shook her body in rage. She could probably be praised for not activating Hundred Eyes. The angel was shocked once again after seeing that the fortress had sentience, but tried his best to keep a calm expression and told Yu IlHan after landing on the ground.

[She will come soon.]

"Anyone without permission will be attacked when they come close to the fortress so tell her to not enter immediately and wait outside."

[...I shall.]

The Heaven's Army already knew that the artifacts of the Flying fortress were plenty effective against higher existences. The angel sweated profusely and told his higher-ups. What would he think if he heard that the two fortresses will be upgraded once again with the remains of numerous higher existences? Of course, not that Yu IlHan would tell him anything.

"Brother, you were safe."

"MiRae, you too... you… have changed quite a bit."

Kang HaJin was surprised after seeing Kang MiRae. Even though the same amount of time had flowed for him and her sister, he hadn't changed much, while his sister had matured tremendously – that's what he felt.

This wasn't only because she had acquired 4th class, she looked very mature whether from her eyes or her attitude. He subconsciously sighed.

"Sir Yu IlHan is amazing alright."

"Why did I even come out here?"

Even while replying, Yu IlHan had half-guessed the implications behind his words and looked about to cry.

He had a hard time when shaking off Na YuNa, how was he supposed to express his rejection to Kang MiRae? Yu IlHan had little experience being in love, and this moment was like a disaster to him. To think he'd experience such a problem, dammit!

"MiRae-noona, I wanted to see you so much!"

"My Mir, noona wanted to see you as well."

"Kang MiRae, I see you've become a little pretty."

"Liera... I'm glad that you're safe."

Meanwhile, Kang MiRae, who met the others after coming to the fortress, started chatting with them. The angel's expression became worse as time went by. It was because he felt that Kang MiRae wasn't just closely related with Yu IlHan, but had ties to others in his group as well. At that time, the ring above his head flashed.

[Ah, it looks like she's here.]

[This aura is around 6th class? Master, I don't have to shoot, right?]

"Yes. Temporary permission granted."

The doors to the Flying fortress opened, and a female angel with two pairs of wings slowly flew inwards. For Yu IlHan, this was their first time meeting, but Liera's face shined as if it wasn't the case for her.

"Titaera!"

[It's been a while, Liera. No wait. Did your name change now?]

"It's still the same. Oh, I didn't know they'd send you here!"

Yu IlHan inwardly put a level of guard down after looking at Liera's bright face. It seemed like the Heaven's Army were not idiots, and sent someone who was very close with Liera.

She seemed to smile towards Liera in the greeting before turning her gaze around to Yu IlHan and lightly nodded her head.

[And as for you... you're the capable man Yu IlHan who took two of our angels with you.]

"And I killed one too."

[*Cough*...]

Titaera's face darkened for a moment, but soon returned to her usual face. Hm, perfect selection of personnel.

[And let's talk about things now.]

Like that, the table for negotiation was prepared. Yu IlHan, Kang MiRae, Kim YeSeul, Liera, Erta, Titaera, and finally the 5th class angel that first looked for Kang MiRae, Keduta – these 7 sat on their seats.

[Then I shall immediately get on with the topic.]

Titaera came out strong.

[If you help us this time, we'll forget everything that happened between you, Mr. Yu IlHan, and us, the Heaven's Army.]

"Does that mean you'll forget about the fact that you've abandoned Earth after negotiating with the other factions just because of your excuse of 'balance'?"

At that moment, Kang MiRae was about to abruptly stand up, but Kim YeSeul made her sit back down with a calm smile. Liera lowered her head even though she had heard this before. Looking at that, Titaera's lips trembled.

[...Of course, my opinions weren't considered in that decision, but that was the only consensus that the Heaven's Army could come to, and even if I knew that, I would not have disagreed. However... you have also given us a lot of damage. You won't deny that, right?]

"Yes, indeed. But what I want to say is not that."

Yu IlHan continued speaking as if all this was absurd in the first place.

"What merits are there even if I agree to enter a treaty with you? Moreover, Miss MiRae... yes, even if she said that she'll use her abilities for me, shouldn't you at least offer what you can do for her, the one possessing the ability that may help you?"

[We originally intended to accept her into the Heaven's Army as the reward...]

Kang MiRae's eyes glistened sadly. The crystals of mana around her also seemed like they had lost their light.

"I... do not want to join such a place."

[I... did expect this to happen. Yu IlHan, the ones related to you are usually attracted to your light.]

"I don't want to hear such flattery. As long as you said that you want to borrow her power, the peace contract should be the basics. Talk about something else that you can bring out."

"IlHan is so cool...."

"You be quiet."

[Liera....]

Titaera looked toward Liera for help, but Liera only tilted her head. She did not help in persuading Yu IlHan, in the two's relationship, Yu IlHan was the dominant one!

Titaera realized that without much difficulty and sighed once again.

[We're in a very urgent situation right now. In fact, even while we're talking right now, there is a war in the Wall of Chaos. ... If possible, we want to borrow not only Kang MiRae's strength, but yours as well.]

"Then it should be fine if I ask for a little more for the reward. You should know of our battle power, right?"

[... We haven't exactly seen through it. Every time we thought we had a proper grasp of your power, unexpected things happen. However, right now... yes. I can judge that you have power equivalent to one tenth of a higher existence faction.]

A force rivaling one tenth of a higher existence faction that had existed for countless years... that was a very generous evaluation. Yu IlHan didn't think that his group was as strong as that, but considering the special abilities they had, their value as an assault group was high enough.

[...What do you want? An artifact? As far as I know, the best craftsman of artifacts is right in front of me.]

"However, even I can't make things like the Hourglass of Eternity. Artifacts that are born in a realm insurmountable by a mere individual – those are still impossible for me right now."

[Are you telling me that you wish for a God-ranked artifact?]

"So you do have them?"

Oho – Yu IlHan's lips curved upwards. Titaera, facing the evil smirk, realized that she had spoken about something she shouldn't have. Trying her best not to show her emotions, she changed topics.

[No, even if we do want to give you, we do not have anymore. So let's talk about...]

"Mystic!"

Of course, such feints did not work against Yu IlHan who had experienced them so much. Yu IlHan shouted in a loud voice and abruptly stood up.

"The customer is leaving. Open the gates."

[Got it, master.]

The door to the Flying fortress opened once again. At the same time, the mana in the fortress started being agitated! Before he could send her all the way to hell if she did not leave on her own accord,

[I understand.]

The high angel declared defeat.

[We shall give you a God-ranked artifact.]

Yu IlHan looked at Kang MiRae and asked her.

"She says it's a God-ranked artifact, will you be alright?"

"If it's something I can do, then yes. I want to do it. After all, it is the truth that the Heaven's Army is keeping the balance between the worlds."

Kang MiRae's answer was positive. Yu IlHan nodded in understanding and faced Titaera once again. Her expression had become much brighter.

[Then can I take it as you accepting the request?]

"Of course, we won't accept if it's something that we cannot do with our power, but you can take it positively for now."

[Thank you!]

"What do you mean thank me. I'm more thankful. Two God-ranked artifacts. I'll gladly take it."

[Two....!?]

Looking at the high angel's shocked face, Yu IlHan tilted his head and then put up three fingers.

"Then three?"

[Two! T, two is fine!]

Titaera hurriedly nodded her head. Yu IlHan nodded in satisfaction and all the others thought that the angel looked very pitiful.

"Then shall we get on with the real topic at hand?"

The negotiation had succeeded.

[What we want is a single warp gate. Yu IlHan, we want you to protect Miss Kang MiRae during the process.]

"That sounds very suspicious."

[Any more than this is too dangerous to talk about within a lower word.]

He didn't even expect the angel to be truthful with everything. She probably means that they won't be able to escape once they heard the story. This basically meant that they had to follow whatever the Heaven's Army requested them to do if they wanted the two God-ranked artifacts... Yu IlHan pondered for a little but eventually nodded his head. Kang MiRae said she'd do it, so there was no reason for him to refuse either.

"Okay, then let's go get the prepayment."

[B, before that. I'll go report to the higher-ups.]

Titaera stood up powerlessly like a middle schooler that failed in buying a game that was just released, even though he had lined up from dawn for it.

Keduta was about to support her but was given a glare and shrunk back. It was definitely a gaze that contained 'if you had just moved a little faster and procured Kang MiRae!' or something along those lines.

"Please select ones that fit us. One will be used by Miss MIRae so one related to magic."

[...I understand.]

Titaera left like that. After sending her off, Yu IlHan sighed and loosened his shoulders.

"This has become a pain. I thought we wouldn't have to fight for quite a while."

"Then you could have just rejected their request. The one they wanted was me in the first place too..."

"But I can't trust them anymore. I can't send you, alone Miss MiRae."

"..."

Even though Yu IlHan had said that out of pure worry, it was an arrow to Kang MiRae's pink-colored heart. However, Yu IlHan ignored the fact that Kang MIRae was blushing and fidgeting, and stretched his body.

"There's not much time left, so I should make a trump card just in case. If I could only use the Hourglass of Eternity again, then I could have surpassed the limit of the Flying fortress."

"A trump card?"

Liera tilted her head. Yu IlHan lightly nodded and added.

"I might need Paté's power."

"Paté's...? Don't tell me you?"

Liera's eyes trembled. What she thought of was the intact bodies of higher existences inside Yu IlHan's inventory.

"Are you going to try entering the field of necromancy? It would be hard if you don't get used to the class like Paté."

"No, rather than undead, it should be classified as a living doll... I want to do something about those annoying thought-souls."

[What do you mean annoying?]

There was a fresh and lively voice that replied to Yu IlHan's words. It was none other than the thought-soul of the Succubus Queen Helièna.

[I only want to tell my darling of my endlessly straight and pure love.]

"Not all 'straight' and 'pure' things are good; you know? Look at me. I was a 'straight' and 'pure' loner, but I don't think that's a good thing."

He replied to Helièna's thought-soul in a cold voice. Liera asked him with worried eyes.

"IlHan, is it fine to believe her?"

"The reason I did not accept her for one is because I couldn't trust her, but it was also because I could not accept her very existence. However, both of them have completely been solved right now."

When Liera tilted her head in confusion, Yu IlHan continued explaining.

"Both Helièna's thought-soul, and her body, are, in the end, the 'previous' Helièna. They're not the same being. And if it's a thought-soul, I can trust it however much I want."

[I did say this before, but you could have trusted me while I was not a thought-soul too! Darling really likes to be reassured. What should I do? I love that part of you as well. Darling, can you feel my love?]

"Hmph."

Yu IlHan only replied with a snort at the thought-soul Helièna's proactive approach and looked around at his other companions before clapping his hands to gather attention.

"Dragon's Army, and the ones that still haven't acquired their 4th class will be left on Earth for this battle. This is too difficult for anyone under the 4th class. The rest of you, please prepare for battle in your respective positions. Oh, Erta, you help me out with Paté."

"Understood, I shall get Paté here then."

Kim YeSeul noticed that her son was about to do something amazing and her eyes shined. Wasn't this the perfect moment to witness one of the countless abilities that her son had?

"That sounds very interesting. I want to watch too. Is it something secretive?"

"No, it's nothing like that. It's fine if you watch."

Yu IlHan allowed her to watch with a light heart. Like that, Yu IlHan, Yumir, Kang MiRae, Na YuNa, Kim YeSeul, Paté, Jirl, Mirey, Ericia, Liera and Erta – a total of eleven – gathered in Yu IlHan's workshop.

"Why!? I said go prepare!"

"Well, we are curious..."

Liera blurred the end of her lines. In fact, her true intention was to watch over Yu IlHan to see if he did something bad, but there was no way she could say that. Yu IlHan's gaze turned to others.

"Preparation for battle?"

"We're ready, Your Majesty!"

"I also want to watch, master."

"Ugh, this shouldn't be possible, but Miss YuNa. Can you cast anti-charm barrier onto the group?"

"Okay. Lady Leytna. Pleaseeeee."

Only after checking that everyone was cast with the barrier did Yu IlHan start the work. What he first took out was the Cradle of Miracles. Inside, he poured Echjar's blood, and took out Helièna's body from his inventory and let it float on it.

"Oh my..."

"Truly beautiful."

"How could His Majesty stab such a woman?"

"...Goddammit."

Although her skin had turned pale, she was completely intact, except for her heart that Yu IlHan stabbed, and the skin. Nobody would be surprised even if she suddenly woke up and walked around. Seeing that, Paté made an expression of absolute despair and told Yu IlHan.

"Your Majesty, it is impossible with my current power to make such a powerful undead."

"I know. You just need to lead my imagination."

Yu IlHan's work was usually done through three processes.

First was the item crafting – blacksmith. This was the one Yu IlHan had the most confidence in, and was also the foundation of the creation of countless artifacts.

The second was of course, mana crafting. Yu IlHan also had talent for this field as well, and after absorbing the essence of magic engineering and handling all sorts of items, at the current point in time, he could do it just as well as blacksmithing.

The third was soul enchant, the power of the deathgod he had acquired from Reta Kar'iha. In this field, he was confident as well like the previous two, as he had grown as a Deathgod until now.

And this time, there was no need for the first process.

"This is a completed product in itself. It's not something I can touch."

[Oh my... you do have eyes for girls, darling.]

He ignored the thought-soul's voice and put his hand on Helièna's chest. It was the part where his spear had pierced.

"The materials for mana crafting is already within the remains."

"A 7th class magic stone. That's an amazing material."

"And to add..."

Yu IlHan cut open his palm and drew out blood. The moment Yu IlHan's blood fell upon the punctured heart, the Cradle of Miracles reacted with a 'voon' sound. Echjar's blood that filled the cradle, started resonating violently.

"Paté, grab my hand. And draw out your aura to the fullest."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Paté, who was more beautiful than most female elves (but was strictly male), grabbed Yu IlHan's hand while blushing. He had to bring out all his power as an Archer of Destiny and transfer it to Yu IlHan!

Yu IlHan calmly accepted Paté's power, recorded it and analyzed it. Mana crafting had commenced from this moment.

'Paté's power that allows him to go against the laws and make the dead arise again and move them around to his wishes – what I need is only a portion of that. I only have to bring the back the body alive again. I'm not making an undead. I'm making hardware.'

The 7th class magic stone inside Helièna's body came into contact with Yu IlHan's blood. With blinding light, an enormous amount of mana burst out like water from a broken dam, but Erta and Kim YeSeul who were prepared for this used their magic to return it to the body. Kang MiRae also helped out.

"It really is an amazing power...! Son, did you really fight against this individual!?"

"Well, I can't exactly call that a 'fight'... but yeah, you can take it that way."

Grasping a single strand of mana and making it circulate inside Helièna's body – once the flow of mana was controlled, regenerating wounds was a simple matter. What was important was to make the regenerated heart beat again. He had to erase any remaining will inside the body and make the body just a empty shell of a biological structure!

[Darling... amazing, you know me better than I do...? I'm so happy!]

Helièna's thought-soul exclaimed. Immediately after that, the mana that was exploding outwards went back inside as if time was being reversed. The pale skin of the body seemed to glow for a little, before color returned to her skin!

"Aah."

"Vitality is coming back!"

Echjar's blood, that supported the floating body, rippled, the ripple was very periodic – it was according to Helièna's heartbeat.

"Your Majesty!"

"It's not over yet!"

Rather, now that the mana was all concentrated, this was the more important of a moment. Any mistake would make the mana go berserk and make the body explode along with the entire Flying fortress! Yu IlHan controlled the flow of mana while bringing out the concentration he used to pick lots for cleaning back in his middle school days.

And an unknown amount of time had passed since he had started. A single line of text appeared on Yu IlHan's retina, quietly.

[You have mastered Mana crafting. You possess the talent to bestow mana to recreate an item that no one can catch up to. Perhaps the end of that ability may be related to creation. The future path must be created by you.]

Echjar's blood that resonated with the heartbeat slowly started being absorbed by her body. Vitality came back to her skin as time passed, and after some time, it even started breathing mana. Perhaps some onlookers may think that she was really sleeping. Kim YeSeul and the others could only be left dumbstruck by the miracle.

"Fuuuu."

"IlHan!"

Liera wasn't too late in catching Yu IlHan from collapsing after all the work had been done.

"Fuu, there's still one process left. If we don't do it immediately, there will be a variable. A new consciousness may arise in a body without prior consciousness."

"If it's for a little, I can slow down the time that the body feels."

"Please, mom."

He never knew his mom would be so heartening! With the support from his mother, he regained a little time to breath, and immediately went on to the next process.

It was none other than the soul enchant process, as well as the one that had to precede it.

"I'm going to accept you as my subordinate now."

[So you're finally accepting my heart!]

"If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have gone through such a troublesome process. You should know what I'm thinking. You are already someone completely different from 'Helièna', and I'm only using a loyal thought-soul and the remains of Helièna."

Yes, this was also the reason why Yu IlHan did not need to hesitate to work on this. However, Helièna's thought-soul rejected him outright.

[However, darling should already know. Darling's power had broken through the limits a long time ago, and as a result, I, who is now in your consciousness, have a very clear self-consciousness. I do not think that I'm completely intact, but I do think that it's at least more than 60%. So, darling has just split the soul in half by killing Helièna. Aah, I only pity the other half of my soul that had disappeared for eternity.]

"...Why are you telling me all this?"

At his words, Helièna spoke words that even made Yu IlHan very dumbstruck.

[Because you might be disappointed after you learn of it later. I do not want to get hated by you, darling...]

"You...."

[As you know already, I cannot hide a single thing from you right now. Do you get that you've made a mistake?]

Yu IlHan went silent; it was a very difficult thing to receive such direct intentions from the thought-soul.

"...Okay, then."

He bit his lips and spoke.

"Prove it to me that I've made a mistake."

[My beloved, I was waiting for you to say that line.]

A thick tie that could not be severed by anything, was connected. Yu IlHan's Rule skill activated.

[You have mastered the skill, Rule. You may evolve the skill once you fulfill the necessary requirements.]

"Your name..."

[I'm Helièna, darling. Like I always was, and like I always will be.]

"Yes, you're Helièna."

[You have accepted 'Helièna' as your subordinate.]

Yu IlHan decided to acknowledge the current her. Then he enchanted her to what was originally her body.

It was a very quiet process, and there was no exaggerating the violence of mana like mana crafting.

However, this was no different from the start of a huge incident that may shake the future of all factions.

Author's notes

Helièna was planned to die and experience recreation from the very beginning!

Translator's notes

Anybody think of 'Kimi no na wa' when IlHan said "Your name..."?

kek

PR (chamber nim is such a weeb!) says me...